American Airlines flight attendants ratified a new five-year contract in 2024 after a 99.47% strike authorization vote and years of high-level federal mediation. According to the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), the union that represents American’s massive workforce of more than 28,000 flight attendants, the deal adds over $4.2 billion in value above the previous agreement.
This equates to an average increase in value of around $160,000 per active flight attendant over the life of the contract.
This guide breaks down exactly what that means in practice: the full pay scale, the new boarding pay structure, per diem, retirement contributions, and the realities of scheduling and reserve that every candidate should understand.
At a Glance
American Airlines flight attendants now start at $37.91 an hour under the 2024 contract. On a standard 75-hour month, that is approximately $2,843 in base pay alone, before boarding pay, per diem, and premiums are added on top.
What you would actually be paid
Figures reflect the confirmed 2024 APFA contract, not older pre-2024 forum posts or salary guides. Excludes per diem and premiums, both covered further down. New hires serve two full years of straight reserve before qualifying for any line-holding rotation.
The Contract
The current agreement runs for five years from its date of signing (DOS) in 2024, with wage scale increases scheduled at DOS+1 (2025), DOS+2 (2026), DOS+3 (2027), and DOS+4 (2028).
During the course of the five-year contract, flight attendants will benefit from basic pay scale increases of between 33% and 36%. When you add in boarding pay, wages are set to increase between 41% and 44% over the length of the contract. The contract also delivered $514 million in retroactive pay, covering the period from January 2020 through the contract’s date of signing.
Worth knowing: The 2024 deal was the first new contract for American’s flight attendants in years, and the scale of the increase reflects that. If you’re comparing headline pay figures against older salary guides or forum posts from before 2024, treat them as out of date as the numbers below reflect the current, ratified contract.
American Airlines Flight Attendant Pay
Pay is a straightforward hourly rate based on years of service, progressing through 13 steps. Here is the full scale across the life of the contract:
Rates sourced directly from APFA’s 2024 Tentative Agreement Executive Summary.
This is base hourly pay only before per diem, boarding pay, or any premiums, all covered below. The rates above are based on Block Hours. They start being paid from the moment that the aircraft pushes back from the gate to the moment that the aircraft arrives at its destination.
Boarding Pay: What’s Actually New
For the first time, American Airlines flight attendants are paid separately for boarding. This is a significant change, since boarding has traditionally been unpaid time at many US carriers, although there is a very specific calculation for how it is paid.
Boarding pay is calculated at 50% of your hourly wage rate, paid for every minute of the published boarding time for your flight. The formula = your hourly rate, divided by 2, divided by 60, multiplied by the length of the boarding period.
Published boarding times vary by aircraft type:
| Aircraft Type | Boarding Time |
|---|---|
| Narrowbody, under 160 seats | 30 minutes |
| Narrowbody, 161+ seats | 35 minutes |
| Domestic widebody | 35 minutes |
| International (IPD) | 50 minutes |
| International (NIPD) | 45 minutes |
Here’s what that looks like in practice, using a 35-minute domestic boarding at different points in your career:
| Year of Service | Hourly Rate (DOS) | Boarding Pay (35-min boarding) |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Year | $35.82 | $10.45 |
| 6th Year | $53.67 | $15.65 |
| 13th Year | $82.24 | $23.99 |
You receive this for every boarding, including if the flight subsequently cancels, and even if you board the same flight multiple times. APFA’s own example calculation shows a first-year flight attendant with 29 boardings in a single bid month earning an additional $302.98 in boarding pay alone for that month — rising to $695.61 for a 13th-year flight attendant with the same boarding count.
Insight: Boarding pay is one of the more significant structural wins in this contract, because it recognizes work that flight attendants have always done but often weren’t directly compensated for. It’s worth factoring into any realistic monthly income estimate rather than treating base hourly pay as the full picture.
Boarding pay benefits new-hire flight attendants, as they are more likely to work multiple short flights in a day.
What Does This Look Like in Your Currency?
Based on the current (2026) hourly rate for a first-year flight attendant — $37.91 per hour, before boarding pay, per diem, or any premiums — and assuming a standard full-time monthly line, the estimated monthly floor works out to approximately:
| Currency | Monthly Estimate (approx. 75 hours at 1st year DOS+2 rate) |
|---|---|
| 🇬🇧 British Pounds (GBP) | £2,232 |
| 🇪🇺 Euros (EUR) | €2,613 |
| 🇦🇺 Australian Dollars (AUD) | AU$4,332 |
| 🇨🇦 Canadian Dollars (CAD) | CA$3,895 |
| 🇮🇳 Indian Rupees (INR) | ₹236,200 |
| 🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (PHP) | ₱159,000 |
Converted at approximate rates as of mid-2026. This is base pay only. Currency rates change; check current rates before making any financial decisions.
Per Diem
Per diem is paid for time away from base and has increased substantially under the new contract:
| Effective Date | Domestic | International |
|---|---|---|
| Previous contract | $2.20 | $2.50 |
| DOS (2024) | $2.85 | $3.40 |
| DOS+1 (2025) | $2.90 | $3.45 |
| DOS+2 (2026) | $2.95 | $3.50 |
| DOS+3 (2027) | $3.00 | $3.55 |
| DOS+4 (2028) | $3.05 | $3.60 |
Lead and Galley Position Pay
Flight attendants working as Lead or in galley positions receive additional premium pay, which varies by aircraft type:
| Aircraft Type | Domestic Lead | International Lead (NIPD) |
|---|---|---|
| B737-800/900 | $3.25 | $3.25 |
| A319/A320 | $3.25 | $3.25 |
| A321 | $3.25 | $3.25 |
| A321XLR | $3.25 | $3.75 |
| B777 | $3.25 | $6.50 |
| B787 | $3.25 | $6.50 |
| Aircraft Type | International Purser/Lead (IPD) | International Galley |
|---|---|---|
| A321XLR | $5.75 | $2.00 |
| B777 | $7.50 | $2.00 |
| B787 | $7.50 | $2.00 |
Domestic narrowbody lead pay increased to $3.25/hour under the new contract (up from $2.50/hour), and international galley pay doubled to $2.00/hour (from $1.00/hour).
Retirement and Profit Sharing
American’s retirement package saw a significant increase under the new contract:
- 401(k) company contribution: increased from 3% to 5%
- 401(k) company match: increased from 2.5% to 4%
- Total company contribution: up from 5.5% to 9% of eligible earnings
Separately, profit sharing was substantially increased: flight attendants now receive 10% of the company’s pre-tax earnings up to $2.5 billion, and 20% of pre-tax earnings above that threshold, distributed across all eligible APFA-represented employees based on eligible earnings. This is the same formula used for American’s other unionized workgroups.
American also introduced a new Retirement Health Reimbursement Account (RHRA): flight attendants who meet retirement eligibility (a 65-point plan, combining age and service, with four months’ advance notice) can convert 50% of their unused sick leave hours into an RHRA to reimburse medical expenses in retirement, calculated at their hourly wage at the time of retirement. Flight attendants can still opt for a cash sick leave payout of $8.65 per hour instead, if preferred.
Worth knowing: A combined 9% company retirement contribution is a real improvement and puts American Airlines in a competitive position against other major US carriers. Combined with the new profit sharing formula, retirement value has increased substantially under this contract compared to the previous agreement.
Other Pay Protections Worth Knowing
The new contract introduced several pay protections that affect real take-home income:
- Sit Time Rig: if ground time between flights exceeds 2 hours 30 minutes, you’re paid an additional 1 minute of pay for every 2 minutes of excess ground time, on top of everything else earned for that sequence
- Voluntary Extension pay: if you voluntarily extend a duty day beyond standard limits, you receive 200% pay for the first extension tier and 300% pay if you extend further, with a hard 4-hour maximum extension
- Hotel delay compensation: if the company fails to notify you of your hotel assignment within contractual timeframes during a schedule disruption, you receive 150% pay for the affected duty period or entire sequence, depending on the delay
- Crew scheduling error pay: now applies from the moment you report for a sequence, rather than only after the sequence has begun
Training and Probation
Training pay doubled under the new contract, from $75 to $150 per day for classroom training, distance learning days, and travel days with no training. Flight attendants based in the city of the training center but living 50 or more miles away are now provided lodging for recurrent training and other required training sessions.
Initial uniform allocation for new hire flight attendants is not provided free by American Airlines. Uniform costs are deducted from pay in increments of no more than $25 per paycheck.
Bases and Commuting
American Airlines operates ten crew bases: BOS, CLT, DCA, DFW, LAX, LGA, MIA, ORD, PHL, and PHX. Base size, seniority requirements, and reserve loads vary considerably between bases — DFW is by far the largest, while BOS and DCA are among the smallest and, based on current seniority data, some of the more accessible bases for new hires.
For a full breakdown of every base, including which ones are easier to hold a decent line at as a new hire, see our dedicated guide:
American Airlines Flight Attendant Bases: Everything You Need to Know
The First Two Years On Reserve
The 2024 contract introduced a significant change for new hire flight attendants that wasn’t part of the previous agreement.
Flight attendants now serve two full years of straight reserve after they complete training before qualifying for any line-holding rotation, followed by three further years on a one-month-on, one-month-off reserve rotation.
That’s a five-year runway before a new hire has a realistic prospect of consistently holding their own schedule…. something worth seriously considering before you accept a conditional job offer.
This page is part of our ongoing coverage of American Airlines flight attendant recruitment, covering pay, the application process and what to expect at each stage. If you're getting ready to apply, here's where to go next.
